Three
Croatian environmental NGOs (from Split, Kaštela and Solin) called the
press conference on 22.01.2003. to alert the public that “Dalmacijacement-Readymix”
(now CEMEX) company is changing their kiln technology in order to
introduce coal and petrol-coke as a fuel (as opposed to less harmful
oil). The company director announced the coal burning as introduction
to the waste burning which is to include hazardous waste. Waste burning
in cement kilns which will be enabled by the newly introduced technology.

An
year after the press conference the company started with coal burning.
The result is multiplied increase in emissions of previously released
harmful and toxic matter, as well as introduction of a series of new,
extremely toxic and carcinogenic materials - although the company claims
they do not burn the waste yet.

The
another aim of the press conference was to inform media and public that
Croatian government in September 2002 passed a decree allowing industry
in Croatia:

1.
To multiply emissions of harmful and toxic matter into air
2. To exceed these newly set limits - up to three times until 31. December
2008
3. Not to make any measurements of the pollution emissions until 1.
July 2004.

In
another words the Croatian government allowed:

1.
Indefinite pollution since Sept. 2002 till July 2004,
2. three times higher pollution of the nominal values until the beginning
of 2009
3. after that incomparably greater pollution with respect to pollution
allowed before this decree.

This
kind of incentive and tolerance for pollutants that Croatian government
exhibits is probably without the precedence around the world. These
careless and harmful decisions suggest the high level of corruption
in the government. The decree was made in 2002 but government following
that one did not change anything with respect to this.

Probably
the most harmful decision passed in this decree is that cement plants
become at the same time waste burning facilities. It is outrageous that
just prior to this decree a petition was signed by more than 10 000
people in the area around “Dalmacijacement” against this. In this petition
citizens required from Croatian government to stop yet another ecological
tragedy caused by “Dalmacijacement” that had 50 year record of the worst
eco incidents in the area. This time the company deliberately plotted
out the pollution with coal and waste.

When
waste, communal or hazardous is burned the emissions include a series
of heavy metals (like mercury, cadmium, lead, arsenic and thallium)
as well as palette of other toxic and carcinogenic matters. Of these
the most poisonous are dioxins and furans which are some of the most
toxic compounds known). They cause genetic mutations and serious harm
in the tissue of people of all ages. They are extremely carcinogenic,
cause aggressive behavior, psychological abnormalities and destroy the
immune system of organisms. Dioxins accumulate in alive organisms and
they get eliminated only through the breast feeding. Children being
breast fed that way drink mother’s milk enriched with dioxins and can
be exposed to the level of dioxins 10-20 times higher than adults. Babies
that are exposed to dioxins before the birth are 100 times more susceptible
to their harmful influence than adults.

When
waste is burned in cement kilns, poisons and carcinogenic matters that
do not get released into surrounding stay in the cement itself and later
on are literally built in into houses and apartments. RMC group does
not care about that because market for their products are primarily
Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The decree of Croatian government
according to which cements plants become also the waste burning facilities,
opens the possibility of burning hazardous and chemical waste camouflaged
as petrol-coke or if needed even without the camouflage (as announced
by Vinko Janjak, DC-RMC director from “Slobodna Dalmacija” 29.11.2000:
“we could burn also waste oils (sic!!).

In
addition, this opens the possibility of bringing in the hazardous waste
from other countries like Great Britain to Croatia. As the management
of the company says on their own, RMC company which is the owner of
“Dalmacijacement” through the joint company “Hales Waste Control” is
“one of the greatest waste managers and disposers in the Great Britain”

Although
from time to time from Dalmacijacement they claim they are not interested
for waste burning (S.D. 27. 12. 2000.) this “not-interestedness” had
been demanted in the media several times. By Vinko Janjak himself, for
example who is the director of the Dalmacijacement-RMC who said “Waste
burning in the factory would not be a problem at all…we could burn plastic,
cardboard, paper…waste oils”

This
has been confirmed by the Croatian ministry of environmental protection
because they were told by the management of DC that waste burning is
“one of their first three priorities”.

Because
of all these reasons, we request from Croatian ministry of environmental
protection

1.
to invalidate the decree by which they allow usage of coal in DC
2. to invalidate the decree by which they allow cement plants to burn
waste and in which they also allow incomparably greater emissions of
harmful and toxic elements and compounds for industry.

3.
We also demand of the Croatian government to finally begin respecting
the law related to waste so that valuable materials from the waste would
be recycled and not burned.

The fundamental problem with cement kiln hazardous waste
incineration is that it has the effect of putting 100% of the toxic metals
found in hazardous
waste into the environment,
either as clinker, cement
kiln dust or air pollution.
Mercury control is particularly poor at cement
kilns.Alex J. Sagady & Associates, US Environmental specialists